


The Lost Treasure

by loOkMA_iTyPeLiKeDiS



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Character Development, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone has a sob story, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Slow Burn, Treasure Hunting, because kamui is kamui, breathtaking violence, pretending to be male
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 22:51:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13328094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loOkMA_iTyPeLiKeDiS/pseuds/loOkMA_iTyPeLiKeDiS
Summary: Soyo just wanted to help her mother and father. She never expected she would end up as part of a notorious pirate crew, led by none other than the most dangerous pirate captain of all.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Story will get much worse later on lol; don't be fooled

Kamui stood at the bow of the Amanto amidst the noise of his crew celebrating a successful pillage down on deck, tossing the jewels and coins and chugging down ale. He watched in the distance as fire engulfed a ship, eating its way through the wood of the side and slowly climbing up the mast to the sails. Even over the ruckus of his members, Kamui could still hear the shouts of men on the crumbling ship trying to salvage whatever they could of their ship, but Kamui knew it was futile. He'd had his men plant bombs all along the cargo hold below deck. In a matter of time, they would go off, fully destroying what was left of that pathetic ship and killing off the rest of the men in the crew.

It made no difference to him, truth be told. After all, he'd already gotten what he was looking for from the ship and the rest was of no use to him. And watching people in any of the kingdom navies perish was one of his favourite pastimes.

 A few seconds later, there was a blast that tore the remaining parts of the ships to pieces, lighting up the dark night with bright orange light. Everything was illuminated, shouts growing louder, and the smell of smoke and burning wood permeated the air. The explosion rocked the seas and a few seconds later, a sharp gust of wind blew past him, his cape billowing behind him and his sails flapping wildly from the impact. A slow smirk crept up on his face as he watched the now silent ship get sucked into the dark abyss that was the ocean.

 "Kamui, you look creepy standing there with a smile on your face, you know?" Abuto drawled, sidling up next to the vermilion haired captain with a yawn.

 "How many times do I have to tell you it's Captain, Abuto?" He rose a brow, glancing at his quartermaster with a thinly veiled threat in his eyes. "I suppose you'll have to die to get that right?"

 Unperturbed, Abuto gestured to the deck behind him. "Before you kill me, I thought you might want to know that the messenger is awake."

That got Kamui's attention from the destruction he'd been watching. Disarming smile growing, he turned around, cascading down to the main deck to converse with the man they'd abducted during their attack of the merchant ship. His men made way, parting and creating an easy path for him to reach their current prisoner. Now whether he would remain a prisoner for long or not—and alive—depended on how cooperative this man was. They'd tied him firmly to the main mast, tight enough that not a single part of his body could even move.

The messenger stared defiantly as Kamui approached him, though he could easily tell that the man—a scrawny boy who'd probably only just recently had his coming of age—was shaking, eyeing him warily. He knew from some of his crew that he had a tendency to strike fear into the hearts of others with his empty gaze, but was he really that terrifying? Yes, Kamui had punched the man until his face had raw, bleeding welts and until he was nearly unrecognisable from bruises and sure, he'd broken a couple ribs and snapped several of his fingers to the point that the man had passed out from the pain, but that was only because he wouldn't cooperate. Kamui had asked him a simple question and the idiot had spit in his face.

Kamui didn't believe he had to use gratuitous violence against weaklings, and in fact was indifferent about the whole spitting thing, but his crew was there watching and if he even gave in an ounce or gave them the impression that he was getting soft, there could be mutiny or other annoying things to deal with.

"I hope you've had a chance to think your answer through." Kamui smiled brightly, slipping his hands innocuously in his pants pockets as he stopped in front of the man. "Are you ready to cooperate now?"

The man leaned back as far as he could—which wasn't far—to get away from Kamui. "W-what do you want with me?"

Kamui sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I thought I'd made that clear from the start. You're a messenger of the Kingdom of Feng, correct?"

The man let out a shuddering breath, but nodded rapidly.

"I've heard rumours that your king has a map that will lead to the mythed Tokugawa treasure. Is that true?"

The man swallowed thickly, his gaze dropping to the ground. "…I don't know what you're talking about."

Without a word, Kamui pulled his short pistol out of his holster and shot bullets in both the man's knees. The prisoner let out a bloodcurdling scream, jolting violently against his restraints and struggling to breathe normally through his pain and the tears that were dripping from his eyes. Kamui didn't give him the chance, wrapping one hand around the man's neck and gradually putting more and more pressure until he was squeezing just enough for the man to start choking. His eyes started bulging, his face pale and lips turning blue as he struggled for breath.

Kamui wasn't an idiot. He could see the anxiety and nerves and fear plain as day in the man's eyes the minute that Kamui had mentioned the treasure that many people had been seeking to find for many, many years.

"Be careful. Mistaking my passiveness for safety will get you killed," Kamui drawled. "The next wrong answer will have you losing an arm."

 "I will be hanged if I betray my king!" he hoarsely cried out, gasping for breath when Kamui tightened his grip on his throat.

 "You're going to die either way," Kamui responded deliberately slowly in a low and dangerous tone of voice, "but by my hand, it'll be much more painful. I don't afford people the benefit of a quick hanging. I'll cut off your limbs and carve out your organs while you slowly bleed out in agony. You'll be wishing for your king's merciful death down to your very last breath if you don't tell me what I want to know."

They were lies to spark fear into the heart of the man. Kamui was more interested in a good fight to the death than any of that mundane torture stuff—that was his helmsman's inclination—but it was certainly amusing to watch the man's face go pale and his eyes widen to innumerable proportions.

 "He has a map to the treasure! He was going to send us on an expedition in a month's time to go get it," the messenger said quickly.

 It was exactly what Kamui had been hoping to hear. He supposed that was where they should start their search then. Any leads were better than no leads and they were certainly better than a couple of rumours. He'd spent way too many months in lethargy, looking for as much information as he could without having the opportunity to really start the expedition. It was by sheer stroke of luck that he happened to hear about Feng's king potentially having a map and then running into one of the kingdom's merchant ships a few weeks later. Now they had an actual course of action. It wasn't a lot of information to go on, but it would do.

 "For your sake, that had better be true. If you're lying to us, well… I don't think I need to tell you again what will happen to you," Kamui said in a singsong voice, smiling as he released his hold on the man's neck. The man gasped for breath, taking deep breaths graciously. "Men, we have a new lead! Onward to the kingdom of Feng! Onward to the Tokugawa treasure!"

 The crew started shouting for joy, recommencing their merrymaking and drinking. Kamui spun on his heels, ignoring the shouts for mercy from the man they'd forced from the Feng Kingdom's merchant ship. Kamui was full out laughing by the time he reached Abuto. Months of looking around aimlessly, months of trying to find more information and he'd finally managed to track down something he needed to a nearby kingdom.

 "You live to see another day, Abuto." Kamui clapped him on the shoulder, and Abuto let out an exasperated sigh at this captain's continued exhausting behaviour. "Chart a course for the Kingdom of Feng. Time for us to get the Tokugawa treasure."

 "Kamui… you don't really believe in those fairy tales do you?"

 Kamui turned away, staring at the horizon where the sun had finally begun to set, painting the sky in a splash of orange and purple as it began to darken. He'd suddenly grown so quiet and stoic that Abuto thought he was about to get shot by his volatile captain for questioning his orders.

 "It's not a question of whether I believe in them or not…" he finally said, contemplatively. "I just need to get that treasure. That's all that matters."

 Abuto stared at his captain for a few seconds before he nodded, turning to head to his quarters to chart the course to give to their helmsman. "I sure as hell hope you have a plan for when we reach Feng, Captain."

 "Pillage and plunder, Abuto." Kamui's dangerous grin returned, his expression jovial. "It's what we pirates do best after all."

 


	2. Chapter 1

"Will this be your first time at the castle?" the old steward of the king asked Soyo with a kind smile.

Soyo nodded, though she didn't respond. Most of her attention was on the white pearl castle they were gradually approaching. She'd always seen it in the distance from the miller's home in the village—the towering white building on the hill in the horizon—but never had she gotten the opportunity to look upon it at so close a distance. It was even more grand and majestic than she could ever have imagined, but the sheer size of it intimidated her. It was her home now though, so she'd better get used to it.

"Well it's a lovely place. They even have a rose garden in the back that blooms beautifully in the spring. I think you will absolutely love it here." The carriage hit a snag in the road and jerked, jolting its inhabitants over to the other side. The steward tsked under his breath. "The King should really fix this road. It's quite a problem for visitors to the castle."

The King should also stop taxing all the poorest people in the village, Soyo thought with disdain.

And while he was at it, he could try to improve the living conditions of the kingdomfolk who worked hard every day to provide for themselves through dismal lifestyles. And maybe people wouldn't keep ending up like Soyo: sent off to the kingdom for money after a tearful goodbye to the only family she'd ever known.

Soyo knew how much it must have pained her mother to give up her only child. Granted, Soyo had been adopted as a baby by the elderly couple who'd found her drifting in a basket on the lake, but she'd loved and cared for Soyo with her ailing husband for several years. But Soyo's father's long time illness had suddenly grown much worse and he'd been coughing up a lot of blood, so her mother had had to sell her off to the king so she could keep buy medicine to heal him. It was a hard life for those who didn't live in wealth on the innermost parts of the kingdom, so Soyo didn't resent her for doing what she had to do to survive. And Soyo herself had suggested it to help the burden on her mother's back. They were an elderly couple living on very little, so she'd figured she should leave them so they can enjoy their remaining time together.

It wasn't unheard of, children in the villages getting sold off to work in the castle. Times were hard, poverty was rampant, and with the number of orphans or abandoned children growing, Soyo was one of the lucky ones. Most of the girls her age had already been sold off the minute they bled while others had been married off. Soyo had gotten the chance to spend most of her life with her adoptive family well past her coming of age.

But now there was no escaping that fate. She didn't know what kind of job she would have to handle at the castle, but she wasn't the type made for physical labour. Not that she couldn't do hard work, but her mother had always told her she had the delicacy of royalty. Her physique was small and a bit dainty; her body wasn't made to do work that used a lot of muscle. Soyo could make it as a chambermaiden, but any other thing more labour intensive would be more difficult for her.

"We're here," the kind steward said, drawing Soyo's attention back to him. "We must not keep anyone waiting. We must move quickly."

The carriage doors were opened and the old man helped Soyo climb down. Following his lead, she moved through the grand doors of the castle and was led down stone corridors deeper and deeper inside. There was barely any time to register where she was being taken or the surrounding scenery. The tall, spindly steward was walking fast, and Soyo had to practically run to keep up with him.

They came upon a small, open room off of a hallway that seemed to hold linens. There was a stout woman in there, standing with her arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. The steward ushered her in and Soyo stumbled inside the room.

The woman's face instantly turned sour. "A bit daft and probably clueless, are you? Come over here! Are you soft in the head, child?"

Affronted, Soyo walked over to the spot the woman was pointing at. Almost immediately, she began prodding and poking Soyo, lifting up her hands and looking at them. She ran her finger through Soyo's hair, measured her waist and hips and bust, and checked her skin under the collar of her cotton tunic. After a few minutes of Soyo standing there growing increasingly uncomfortable, the woman finally stepped away.

"You are rather dirty as expected of a commoner and your hands have some callouses from labour, but your beauty cannot be denied. One such as yourself would be more useful working as a maid perhaps." She clapped her hands briskly. "Change into this and come. We must present you to the king."

Soyo did as she was told, removing the last remnants of her old life as the miller's daughter and putting on the simple cotton dress that had been appointed to her. It was frayed at some of the edges and smelled a little like mold, as if it hadn't been cleaned in some amount of time, but Soyo didn't say anything as she put it on. Once she was done, the woman teased a harsh comb through her tangled hair—and nearly tore apart her scalp in the process—and then made her put on some worn slippers.

"No castlehand should walk around barefoot; it's a disgrace," the woman spat at her before tugging her along down the corridor again to go present herself to the king.

The steward waved at her as she left, and Soyo smiled back at him. He seemed like a kind old man and he'd treated her nicely from the moment they'd met. But her attention was soon demanded of by the woman who scolded her for not looking straight ahead when walking. She took Soyo around several other corners back in a similar direction to the way she'd come before until they reached the grand doors of a room to the right of the large stone stairwell from the front.

The woman picked up the brass lionhead knocker and banged on the door several times. A booming voice on the inside told them to enter.

"When we get in there, make sure you bow properly to his highness. And keep your head down after you do so, do you understand, you dim-witted girl? You are not permitted to make eye-contact with his highness."

Then the woman opened the door, and Soyo was met with the sight of a grand throne room, with coats of arms hanging from several balconies. Sunlight streaming into stained glass windows, reflecting off the glittering chandelier in the centre which lit up the room in a plethora of fantastic colours, making the room look like a dream from a fairy tale. Lined up along the side were guardsmen idly watching the two women walk in, some with interest, others looking like they'd seen this all too many times. The floor was adorned with red velvet carpet, leading to a path close to the thrones at the front of the room.

At the head of the room was the king sitting at his throne, imposing and dangerous with his sharp grey eyes and the powerful glare that no doubt had scared many into submission. He was sitting between his queen, a woman with a pinched look on her face who looked bored yet exquisite and regal. She looked disinterested in the events happenings and barely spared Soyo a glance before her face reverted to the blank expression she'd been carrying earlier. On the other side was the prince, a smarmy looking boy with an unsettling look in his grey gaze that made Soyo uneasy. She immediately turned her gaze downward, a chill going down her back. For a second, she could have sworn he'd licked his lips.

She and the old woman walked along the red carpet until they had reached the stairs leading up to the thrones. Following the lead of the chambermaid, Soyo curtsied deeply, though the motion was clumsy since she'd never had to do so before. She nearly fell over herself and her legs shook under her dress from the effort of holding herself upright. But she kept still as long as she could until the woman beside her straightened. Soyo did the same, deeply grateful for the chance to relax, but she kept her head down, not just because she'd been ordered, but also because she could feel eyes on her, raking over her body, making her feel exposed, and she knew it was the prince.

"My liege, your highness, my prince," the old chambermaid said in reverence, "I come to present the miller's girl who had been sold last week. Her physique would put her in a good place for work as a chambermaid or in the kitchens."

"My, my. But aren't you a beauty," the queen said in a haughty tone of voice. "Who knew there was something of value down in those disgusting villages?"

It was said unkindly and with a hint of malice, and Soyo bit her tongue to hold back her scathing response to the queen about her looking like she needed to pass stool.

"I have no interest in these worthless village tramps," the king said dismissively, and Soyo's jaw clenched. They were being unnecessarily cruel, and she hated the way they spoke about her home in such a way. The villages didn't get that way because of the people who lived in them. It was all the fault of the king and he clearly had no intention of taking responsibility for his ruling. "Send her to work in the kitchens."

The chambermaid bowed again. "Yes, my l—"

"Now hold on, father," the prince interrupted, and at his tone, Soyo's heart nearly stopped, her stomach twisting in sudden knots. "A girl like that would be wasted working in the kitchens."

"Oh? Then what do you suggest, my boy?"

Soyo knew before he even uttered his next words what he was about to say. She'd gotten that foreboding feeling the minute she'd first laid eyes on him. But even hearing the words dropping from his lips struck fear into her very core.

"She will make a good mistress for me, father."

"That miserable, filthy wench?" the queen scoffed, chortling in a loud, derogatory fashion. "You sure have some odd tastes, son. Tell me, girl. Have you bled?"

"Your queen has spoken to you!" the chambermaid hissed when Soyo hesitated, bringing a hand up to her head and slapping her hard. Soyo jolted in surprise, her lower lip quivering from her fate. This wasn't fair. She didn't want to be a mistress. "Answer when you are spoken to."

"Yes, your highness…" Soyo said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. It took everything in her not to let her voice waver.

"And I suppose you probably have let all the village boys pass you around as their plaything?"

"…I am a virgin, your highness," Soyo asserted calmly, anger coursing through her. What right did the queen have to question her chastity in such a way?

"Mother, I want her as a mistress! Stop interfering!" the prince barked angrily. "Woman. Send this girl to the mistress quarters after dinner hour and give her a bath."

"Yes, my prince. As you wish," the woman beside Soyo said.

Soyo's hands clenched into fists around the fabric of her dress and she fought to keep them from shaking. This wasn't fair. She didn't want to lose her chastity to the prince. She didn't want to be a mistress! This wasn't what she had signed up for when her mother had sold her to the castle!

The prince sneered, licking his lips slowly. "I will break her in tonight."

Soyo's head snapped up furiously, and she glowered at them. "No! I refuse! My mother sold me here to work! I don't want—"

"Your mother sold you to me to do as I see fit with you." The king interrupted coldly as the old chambermaid barked at Soyo to be quiet. "My son desires you as a mistress. So a mistress you shall be."

"Your steward told her I would work in the castle! You promised!" Soyo shouted, not caring about propriety whatsoever.

It was only when she met the gazes of the royal family that her voice and rebellion died in her throat. The three on the thrones stared her down in utter disgust and apathy, their gaze unyielding and a lingering threat behind their expressions. Whatever neutrality had existed in the exchange had been fully squashed by her outburst. The tension in the room was so thick, Soyo had to swallow several times before her throat would unclench.

"You have got quite a mouth on you, you mewling quim," the king replied in a low and treacherous voice. "If you do not do what I say, I will have your mother and father killed. You would do well to comply."

Her heart seized in her chest, and Soyo let out a small involuntary whimper of disbelief. How could he give her such an awful ultimatum? She didn't want her mother or father to have their lives taken because of Soyo. Those two didn't deserve that kind of terrible fate. Soyo's head dropped as she stared at the ground, her lower lip quivering violently as she tried desperately to fight the way her throat tightened.

"I should cut out your tongue for daring to speak to me that way," the prince said finally, languidly standing up from his throne and approaching her. He grabbed her and pulled her close until she was pressed firmly against him, one hand grasping her ass, the other forcefully tipping her chin up so she was looking him in the eye. He gently caressed her cheek, and Soyo's skin crawled as he squeezed her. "But if I do, I won't be able to hear you scream when I fuck you. I will definitely have fun defiling that tight cunt of yours."

Soyo fumed, feeling tears sting the back of her eyes as she stared into his disgusting lustful gaze. She refused to let them fall. She was too proud to show any weakness in front of this foul human being.

"Don't be an ingrate," he murmured in a deceptively kind voice as he ran his thumb across her lips. Soyo moved her face away with a snarl, but he grabbed the bottom of her face and roughly yanked her back. "Spreading your legs for me is an honour, and you forget that you get the privilege of losing your maidenhood to a prince. Mistresses are allowed their own rooms and are afforded privileges that most could only dream to have. I will treat you well."

Until she was impregnated, and then he'd cast her out to the dogs for sure. Soyo had heard stories and seen the results of women who had been mistresses to the king or prince. If they became with child, they were often thrown out and having no choice, would live in the villages raising their bastard children they could barely afford. Soyo knew she would meet the same fate and just thinking about the shame that she would be brought because of the prince nearly brought a fresh round of tears to her eyes. How these people could be so cruel, she would never understand. The villagers had all been kindhearted, treating her as their very own even though she was not truly of their lands. She'd received nothing but love from the people back home, yet the people in the castle were horrible, wretched people. She hated them. She hated them all.

The prince let her go abruptly, shoving her backwards with a sneer when she stumbled back and nearly fell onto her bum. "Guards take her to my room and do not let her leave. I will send in chambermaids when the time comes."

A pair of guards came beside her, each taking a firm hold of her upper arms and guiding her out of the throne room. Only when Soyo was out of the throne room and completely out of sight of the royal family did she finally let her tears fall.

/

Soyo sighed, slumping down on the plush couch at the foot of the giant bed, exhausted from her pacing. The huge puffy nightdress she'd been forced to wear flowed out beneath her, nearly engulfing her and wrapping her in a comfort that was at odds with her current situation. After being forced to wait in this room with food she refused to eat, she'd gotten a real bath, her hair, skin, and under her nails scrubbed until her skin had nearly become pink. Then she'd been dressed in expensive, fine silk and her hair coiffed and pinned to perfection with ornaments and flowers. Her lips were adorned with a blood red colour, and the jewels they'd had her wear must have been worth more than a fortune.

And the room itself was also immaculately decorated with a plush canopy bed, a golden, jewel encrusted dressing table and a closet chest with all sorts of gorgeous dresses that Soyo had never believed could exist. But none of the beauty and extravagance could change the fact that she was stuck in a situation she didn't want to be a part of.

After the chambermaids had left her to her thoughts, Soyo had wasted no time running to the doors, but there had been guard there who pushed her back inside and threatened to tell the prince if she tried to leave again. With each minute lost and each minute closer to her being forced to bed the prince, the more she began to lose hope. And the more hope she lost, the more panicked Soyo's thoughts became. She'd even entertained the idea of killing the prince when he arrived, but she couldn't fathom the idea of ever taking anyone's life, no matter how evil. She wasn't a monster, no matter how mad she was at these people.

Sighing, she stood up again, heading towards the door to try to see if she could convince the guards to let her use the washroom. Maybe she'd be able to sneak out then.

As she approached the door, she could hear a bunch of noise that seemed to be coming from further into the castle. There was a commotion going on somewhere and the noise was drifting down the hall into her current prison.

Confused, she pressed her ear to the door to listen and was subsequently disturbed when what she heard was the sound of screaming and shouts and metal clanging on metal. Gasping, she ran to the other side of the room at the window, pushing a stool against the wall and rose up on it to look outside. To her surprise, she could see red fume and flames. The castle was burning and someone was ringing the bell for danger.

Fire.

"What in the world happened…?" Soyo muttered, her voice shaking. "An attack?"

Her eyes widened. That meant her room was probably not being guarded or watched since the guards' first duty was to the royal family. She didn't know what was happening, but she wasn't about to miss this chance to escape.

Rising to her tiptoes, she grunted as she pushed hard against the squeaky window pane. The window swung open after a bit of resistance and breathing hard, she rushed to try to pull a leg up onto the cement sill. Her hand slipped and crying out, she tumbled backwards and fell on her bottom to the floor. Pain erupted in her leg and she stared down at her white gown. There was a stain of red over her knee, and she pulled up her skirt with shaking hands. Her fall had caused her to tear the skin off of her knee. She couldn't tell if she was shaking so badly from the pain she was in or if she was just frightened.

Sniffling, Soyo stood up, brushing her hands off and forcing herself not to think about why everything had suddenly gone horribly wrong. "C'mon Soyo. Be strong. Be brave. Now is not the time to start crying."

She tried again, climbing the stool and then used all the strength she had in her to haul herself up despite the protests from her muscles. She got onto the sill and fought to catch her breath as she straightened up, holding onto the window frame to keep herself upright. Her dress billowed against her legs, her hair flapping in her eyes and around her face because of the wind. She pushed it out of the way and stared down at the flaming darkness with trepidation. It was a long way to climb down, even with a ladder made of sheets. She didn't even know where she would end up, and she could barely see out into the darkness enough to figure out how high she currently was. She couldn't get out this way easily without potentially killing herself.

Soyo climbed back down from the sill, carefully this time and slipped her shoes on. With all the commotion going on, she was sure she'd be able to sneak right out through the front door. If she was careful enough, she could avoid the danger and find her way back home to warn the villagers of the attack. Soyo grabbed a shawl to cover her head with and ran to the door, ready to get her own freedom.

Just as she grabbed hold of the handle, she heard a cry of pain on the other side and then two loud thuds, hard enough to rock the door a bit. She pulled open the door with a frown and was met with the sight of a large, scruffy man yanking a bloody sword out of one of the guards' bodies. Her eyes widened in horror as her jaw also fell at the sight of the mangled, bleeding bodies and entrails littered in front of her door. The man turned around slowly, a huge grin on his face as he spotted her by the door.

"My, my… and just who do we have here?" he growled, blood dripping from his face and clothes and hands.

She had to get away. She had to get away now.

Soyo screamed and spun around, nearly tripping on her feet to try to escape back through the window. She got to the stool and started to reach up to make her getaway, but she was yanked back by a large hand that grabbed her arm and pulled her around. Without a second thought, Soyo lifted her arm and sunk her teeth in his meaty fingers, biting hard enough that she could feel the skin break. The man cried out, but in the next second used his other hand and backhanded her so hard she tumbled to the floor. She landed on her stomach, her teeth, nose, and forehead all smacking against the stone floor. Stars burst in her vision and pain shot through her head and she sobbed, trying weakly to crawl away from the man.

Tears escaped Soyo's eyes as he pressed his knee into her back, forcing her to keep still. She could still hear the screams of people in the palace through the open door, and Soyo wondered if she was going to die too as her face was brutally shoved into the ground. Her muscles ached and her face was sore and she could barely breathe since the man's weight was nearly constricting her lungs.

"I found the gold room!" Soyo heard another man say as he clopped into the room. He jingled with every step, and Soyo knew he'd probably already robbed a lot of what the castle had. "Got anything good?"

"Nothing but this wench. She looks like a princess though. Look at this pale skin and her long, luscious hair. Her slender arms." The bandit on top of her ran a finger along her leg. "We should sell her to the Kingdom of Feng. We can get a pretty sum for her."

"True," the other man responded with a low chuckle. "She'll make a good whore with that innocent look. Take her too. You never know what you can get from selling these women."

The man got off of Soyo, but before she could lift herself up or move, he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up. Soyo struggled against his grip, holding onto her head and yelling for him to let go when a ripple of pain cascaded down her head. He pulled the sack on his shoulder off and shoved it over her head, yanking it down her body before tying it tight at her feet.

"Let me go!" Soyo shouted, kicking and punching and squirming around to try to free herself as best as she could. One of her strikes made contact with something meaty and hard, and there was a grunt from the impact. "Let me out of here!"

"Shut up, you!" he barked.

Something hit her head hard, and Soyo's voice died in her throat, her consciousness slowly disappearing as she slumped to the ground.

And the world around her grew entirely black.


	3. Chapter 2

Something was rocking Soyo back and forth as she slowly came to.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, a nasty fish scent invaded her nostrils, and her lips pursed in disgust. She groaned, rubbing the goose egg on the back of her head and trying to gather her bearings. Her wrists were tied together and she was sitting around a few other girls in a similar state amongst the hoard around them. Her hands were restrained tight enough that she wouldn't be able to escape easily, but not tight enough that she couldn't rotate them a bit and move around a little. It was cluttered and reeked of the sea and with every rocking back and forth, she caught the sound of waves splashing against the side of the wood. At least Soyo knew they were on a ship, but that was just about it for the extent of her knowledge of what the hell was going on. Surely someone else had to know more.

The other girls—they must have been castlehands and workers too—looked just as confused and scared as Soyo was. And she didn't have a clue what had happened to her after she'd been knocked out which made her current situation all the more terrifying. She glanced to her right at one of the older looking girls who was leaning back against the wood of the ship, her eyes closed and breathing even, though the furrow of her brows told Soyo that she was most definitely awake. She was the only one who didn't appear as perturbed as the rest.

"Um excuse me?" Soyo asked her quietly, so as not to make too much noise. "Where are we?"

"You're finally awake." The girl intoned, cracking one eye open and staring at Soyo. "We've been on a one way trip to Feng Kingdom in this ship's cargo hold. I think we're here actually. A bunch of girls have already disappeared. There's only about seven of us here who have yet to be sold, but we probably will be in a little bit."

"Do you know what's happening now? Where those men are?" Soyo responded with relief that the girl was not only open to talking, but also seemed to be aware of everything going on. "I was abducted from my parents, and I don't—"

"We all were abducted. From various kingdoms and different places. Welcome to the club," she drawled.

The statement shut Soyo up, and her stomach twisted in knots. They were all in the same situation. They were all about to be sold off, destined to live a life with the sole purpose of providing pleasure for someone's whims. How could her life have gotten so out of control in one afternoon? Sniffling, Soyo started to sob quietly, her shoulders shaking as she tried to stop the whimpers from leaving her mouth. She'd never asked for this life. Why couldn't she be living carefree right now? Was she being punished for something?

After a few moments of her crying, the girl next to her sighed. "Look, I don't intend to get sold off. And I'm guessing you don't want to be either. I want to find my way back to my home and the only way to do that is to get away. I'm going to try to escape when he comes to get us. Do you want in?"

Soyo looked up from her hands in surprise, an inkling of hope forming in her heart for the first time since she'd ended up as the prince's potential chewtoy.

"But… how?"

The girl gestured towards the door of the place they were being stored with her chin. Soyo caught the movement of long hair from the girl, but she couldn't make much else of her features.

"Heard them talking a few hours ago," she said softly, leaning closer so only Soyo could hear her. "They sold the other girls off to local merchants, but we remaining ones are going to be sold directly to the king. Something about us passing as Qing Orientals or something like that."

Again sold to another king?

"Sold to be mistresses and concubines?" Soyo spat darkly, her anger at her fate sprouting up again. Why did it always have to end up like this?

The girl shook her head in disdain. "Worse. Sold for breeding."

"Breeding?!" she squawked as her heart nearly stalled in her chest.

"Orientals are apparently considered exotic and fetch a good sum. Females even more so because they can pop out more Orient babies."

"I refuse to be sold to a kingdom just so I can be treated like some broodmare whose only purpose is to have someone's babies!"

"Which is why we're getting the hell out of here," the girl said conspiratorially. "I heard from one of the bandits a while back that there's a map in the captain's quarters of all the seas. Once we get out on deck, we can grab it and get out of here to find our way back home."

Soyo nodded rapidly, though her hands were shaking a bit in anticipation. She licked her lips nervously. "A-and how do we get off the ship? Won't they catch us?"

"Do you know how to swim?"

"No. I grew up as a miller's daughter…" Soyo muttered, her hope dimming a fraction.

"Nevermind then. It's no big deal. We'll think of something when the time comes," the girl responded quickly, awkwardly patting Soyo's leg with her hand. "I haven't had time to perfect this plan yet, but we don't have much time. When the men come to get us, at my signal, you must get away no matter what. Run straight to the captain's quarters, you hear?"

"Where's the captain's quarters?" Soyo hissed.

But she never got her answer, because in the next moment, a couple of footsteps could be heard above the hatch to their prison. The door was yanked open was yanked open, allowing for a wave of fresh air and a burly silhouette filled the area. The girl Soyo had been talking to clammed up immediately, giving Soyo one poignant look before facing the man who was barking orders for the girls to stand up and line up.

Her heart pounded as she struggled against the binds of her hands to rise to her feet and follow the other girls. She waited for the first ones to get in line before lining up herself. The girl with the plan lined up behind Soyo as they began to trudge towards the hatch door.

"Stay observant…" the girl whispered discreetly in her ear before straightening up as the man began to lead them out.

Stay observant? Soyo had no idea what that even meant, and on top of all of that, she had never been on a ship before. She didn't know where anything was, and this plan was so spur of the moment that Soyo hadn't had a chance to properly consider what to do.

Calm down, Soyo…

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves as the bandit brought them up another set of stairs to the upper deck. Light flooded her face and her eyes burned momentarily as she tried to readjust her vision after being in darkness for so long.

"Hurry up, wench!" The man barked at her when she took too long to get up on the deck.

When they'd all gotten on deck, Soyo looked around quickly, doing some quick recon and trying to figure out where she was. They were clearly docked at a merchant's dock if all the ships and men transporting and moving goods was any indication. The man leading them was walking with another one of his companions. There were a handful of other men on deck too, some milling about, some moving cargo and other goods, and others leering at them with smiles that reminded her of the awful prince of her kingdom. The ship was small and wasn't very well kept and looked a little cramped with all the barrels and boxes littering the path they were taking to the dock. Good for hiding places, but not particularly good if one didn't know their way around a ship.

She couldn't see much past the high stacked boxes, but right below the place where the wheel of the ship was, she could see what appeared to be a room. It had curtains in the panes that looked like windows. She didn't know much about ships, but fancy curtains seemed like an unnecessary luxury. Privacy was often a privilege of someone higher on a hierarchy. Was that where the captain's quarters were?

She didn't have much time to dwell on the question though, because at that moment, the girl she'd been plotting with brushed past her, her long blue hair flying as she charged forward and rammed right into one of the men leading them away. There was a cry of confusion from the girls as they stopped abruptly and the other man looked utterly confused as his crewmate went down with a shout of surprise.

"Now!" the blue haired girl shouted to Soyo as she scrambled to her feet.

Soyo gasped, took no more time to watch the brewing turmoil as the girls started to scatter, and ran like the wind towards that room with the curtains. She'd been able to get a head start because of the confusion, but now she could hear shouts of men to grab the girls over the roaring of the blood in her ears. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode, but Soyo kept running through the throng of boxes towards her destination. Just a little more…

"Oh no you don't, you little bitch!"

And then she was grabbed by the back of her collar and hauled up onto a shoulder. Soyo screamed and thrashed about, fighting against the man restraining her, but he was too strong. She couldn't move very well while being stuck on someone's shoulder with her wrists tied together. She screamed again when he spanked her hard on her behind, jolting her roughly before he started walking back towards where she'd come from.

She was getting further and further away from the room. And further and further away from her chances of getting free. She couldn't let this be the end of it. That blue haired girl had gone through all the trouble of putting her life in danger for them to escape, and Soyo couldn't let it be for nothing.

As she thought that, her eyes drifted down to the hilt of the sabre sticking out from the back of the waistband of the man's britches. Without thinking, she reached down and pulled the knife out of the hilt. With an animalistic cry, she shoved it into his lower back as hard as she could. The feel of the metal tearing through flesh and muscle—resisting—made her want to retch, but she forced the bile back down her throat. The man bellowed in pain, dropping her unceremoniously on the ground as he fell to his knees, his hands going straight to his wounds as he writhed in pain.

Shaking, Soyo stood up, stumbling back towards the room. She'd never stabbed anyone—or done anything violent to anyone—in her life and she knew she would never forget the sensation of the blade ripping through his skin. The look of the blood bursting through the hole in his body. And just like that, the vomit travelled up her throat faster than she could hold it down and she crouched near a barrel, dry heaving as her vision swam with the memories of what she'd done.

"Soyo… this is no time for weakness…" she muttered, wiping the saliva on her mouth with her sleeve.

She shakily rose to her feet and hurried over to the curtained room. When she tried the knob, the door swung open. Releasing a sigh of relief, Soyo clambered in, glad that there wasn't anyone in the room. Though sparsely decorated with only a table and a nice cot for sleeping, the windows were well lit by the sun of the afternoon light. Soyo walked over to the table where she could see a piece of paper. She peered at it. It was raggedy and made of some small old parchment that she'd never seen before. Parts of it and especially the edges were ripped up. It was clearly a map as far as she could see—there were ridges that looked like mountains and blue areas she knew was water—but it was fairly small. It seemed like it was missing parts to it though. The land parts were cut off at weird places.

"Did you find anything?"

Soyo spun around in shock, her heart nearly bursting out of her chest in confusion. She slumped back against the table, pleased to see the blue haired girl standing in the doorway, keeping watch.

"I-I don't know. It's a map, but I don't know what for."

"Well it's something," the blue haired girl walked over to her with a small dagger she must have stolen from one of the men. She picked up Soyo's hands and cut the ropes holding her wrists together. "Take the map and go into town. You might be able to find some shelter somewhere. Wait until dusk and then come back to the docks to try to buy passage onto a Seven Seas Navy ship. Those are the ones with white sails and the SS insignia. They're your best bet to getting out of here, but they won't be there long, so make sure you get there fast."

Soyo folded the piece of parchment and put it in her corset as she and the blue haired girl headed to leave. "Wait, what? Aren't you coming with me?"

The girl walked to the doorway of the cabin and peered out of the room. "There's no way both of us will get away unnoticed. I'll create a diversion, you get out of here. I already set fire to one of the masts. With all the turmoil going on on the ship right now, you should be able to get away."

"I can't do that!" Soyo cried, gripping the girl's arm. "You're the one who made this happen and did all this work. You deserve to get away!"

"Listen you," the girl said sharply, a tad more roughly than her general monotone. "You have a chance to be free. Just take it and go!"

"I can't leave you!"

Soyo felt tears pooling in the back of her eyes. She'd just met this nice person who'd been kind enough to help her get out of being captured and now they had to part ways. Call her naïve, but Soyo had been hoping they might be able to journey together. She didn't know the blue haired girl very well, but she felt like someone Soyo could have called a friend. And now, she was leaving her behind at the mercy of these bandits.

In the distance, they heard a man shout, "Look! There's one of the wenches! In the captain's quarters!"

"They've seen me." The blue haired girl yanked her arm out of Soyo's grasp. "There's no time. Only one of us will be able to leave. It's either that or we both get caught."

"Then it should be you who goes!" As much as Soyo wanted to be free, she couldn't take an opportunity that someone else had put so much effort into. It didn't sit well with her.

"I have no family anymore and no immediate plans for my future. But you've got a mother and father you need to get back to." The girl stooped down a bit, levelling Soyo with a hard glare though in the depth of her dark crimson gaze, Soyo could see warmth and kindness. There was a determination in there, an unwavering strength that gave Soyo some confidence to believe in her words. "Get lost. I can handle myself."

Soyo hesitated, but she nodded. "Then promise me you won't let yourself get caught. Promise me that you'll make it out of this okay too and that one day, we'll meet again, both free."

The faintest smile appeared on the girl's lips. "I promise."

The voices of shouting men were getting closer.

"What's your name?"

"Imai Nobume."

"Nobume." Soyo smiled, memorising the name. She would never forget this girl who'd risked a lot just to help Soyo get free too. "I'm Soyo."

"Until we meet again, Soyo."

And then Nobume charged out of the room, holding the dagger up and getting the attention of most of the men. Soyo stood in the doorway, her eyes widening as she watched her fight them with relative ease, her motions practiced as she fended off their attacks. Nobume looked strong, but there was no way she would be able to handle even more than that, and it seemed like reinforcements would probably arrive soon.

Tearing her gaze away and mentally apologising to Nobume, Soyo ran out of the room too, turning to head towards the ramp to the dock. Most of the men were busy dousing flames or trying to get back some control on the deck, but a few of them saw her as she got off the ship and began to go to the docks.

"One of them is trying to escape! Stop her!"

Soyo gasped and hurried down the ramp, no longer trying to be cautious now that she'd been found. She ran as fast as her tired legs could carry her, holding up the skirts of her dress and glancing back every once in a while to gauge how close the men were to getting her. She ran and ran, pushing past her limbs fighting her to stop and pushing past her heart squeezing in her ribcage and didn't dare stop even when her lungs constricted for air and she could barely gasp for breath. There was no room for rest.

If she stopped to rest her ailing limbs, she would get caught.

If she even tried to catch her breath for a second, she would get caught.

If she even slowed down a little to figure out where she was going, she would get caught.

She ran far into the town, through crowds of people shopping at the market, losing herself in the masses until she was sure she'd lost the men chasing her. Then she ducked into an alleyway. She didn't want to risk trying to hide in a shop or somewhere where people would see her. If the men were looking for her, she might be sold out by someone for a price. She headed as far back as she could through the alley, but then she reached a dead end. Soyo nearly cried, cursing her luck that she had to pick a hiding spot with nowhere to run. But she couldn't try to get out now, if they were still in the area, they would find her. She had no choice but to wait.

Soyo sat down beside a barrel against the brick wall, tucking her knees to her chest as she held her shaking breath, her lower lip quivering as she rocked back and forth. The rush of adrenaline had seeped brutally out of her body, exhaustion taking its place, and Soyo wanted nothing more than to take a good long nap in a warm bed. Her stomach was growling painfully since she probably hadn't eaten in more than a day at this point, and it kept growling and rolling, twisting into knots, but Soyo ignored it. She wouldn't dare move from her spot. Not until it was dusk. Not until she could be sure that she could get away on that Navy ship. She wanted to cry, but Nobume had given her a task, and Soyo would make sure she'd gotten it done before she could relax.

"Nobume, I hope you're okay…" she whispered, before curling further into herself and waiting for the sky to darken.

/

"Hey Miss. You alive?"

Something sharp poked her in the neck.

Her eyes shot open. Soyo sat up straight with a gasp, confused and wondering when exactly she had fallen asleep. One minute ago, she was sure she had been staring at some rats eating trash outside of the door of a shop. There was a boy crouched in front of her who cried out and stumbled back when she sat up. He fell on his bum, staring at her wide eyed and dropping the stick in his hands.

"Clearly alive then…" He eyed her warily, though he inched a little closer to get a better look at her. She could only imagine what she looked like, wild eyed and bedraggled with tangled hair and a dirty dress. "Are you hiding from the pirates?"

Pirates? No, I'm waiting for the…

Soyo snapped her head up and looked at the sky. It had darkened considerably to a midnight black, beyond a dusk lighting. She had to get back to the docks immediately. She had to find passage on an SS ship. She had to fulfil Nobume's orders to her so her sacrifice wouldn't be in vein. Soyo wondered if Nobume had managed to get away. If she was alright now and had found some way to escape the men. Her mind kept replaying the sight of the group of men all ganging up on Nobume and the girl fighting them, but Soyo pushed the thought out of her mind. Nobume was okay. And they would meet each other again, just as they had promised.

She was drawn out of her reverie by the sound of a bell clanging in the distance. A bell that Soyo distinctly remembered hearing at her own kingdom before the bandits had snatched her away.

"Wh-what's going on?" she asked the young looking boy, her voice parched and cracking from a lack of water.

"Another blasted pirate raid." He rolled his eyes as he stood up and brushed off his worn trousers. "Third time this month. It seems they're attacking the castle more than the townsfolk, but Mama told me to hide the gold back here anyway. And uh, I found you."

"I need to get to the docks…" Soyo said absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the boy.

"Didn't you hear me? There's a pirate raid. Going to the docks will probably equal death. If you don't get captured and killed by them, the guns will blow you up into bits!"

If there was a pirate raid, then there were bound to be navy and militia around trying to stop the pirates. It was much later than the time Nobume had told her, but with the situation, there must have been some Navy around. With all the craziness happening around her, maybe she could sneak off easily and find a way to the ship. But she couldn't risk getting caught again by any bandits or pirates if she still looked valuable.

Soyo turned back to the boy as she stood up, loosening up her stiff joints and groaning as her body cracked in relief after being stuck in such an uncomfortable position for so long.

"Listen. I'll trade you my fancy dress and this jewellery if you give me your clothes."

He stared at her in confusion, a look of displeasure crossing his features. "What? I'll be nude!"

"I know, but just until you get home. Think about it." She closed her eyes briefly. She felt a little bad because the boy might get in trouble with those bandits who'd kidnapped her if they saw he had the dress, but she needed those boys' clothes. "This dress is fit for royalty. You can make a pretty sum for this."

"Are you royalty?" he asked in alarm.

"No," she said quickly. She didn't think a boy this young would have such calculating thoughts, but she didn't want to risk the possibility that he would try to get her sold off for money. "I just happen to be wearing an expensive dress. C'mon. Doesn't your family need more gold?"

It was a gamble, and she knew virtually nothing about the boy, but his clothing looked old and he had no shoes. Maybe they were a poorer family in need of money. He was thinking about it though, a pensive expression on his face as he considered her words.

"…Alright," he said at length. "I guess I can switch with you."

Relieved, but fighting the urge to hug him, she began to remove her dress. He did the same with his own clothes. She wondered what her parents would say to her about propriety if they knew she was in the back of an alley, stripping to her knickers and about to trade her dress for the dirty work clothes of a youth. She nearly laughed at the turn of her thoughts.

They both worked at removing their clothes, though she kept her underwear on and he refused to take off his—not that she would even want something so disgusting in the first place. Soyo picked up the shirt he'd dropped and tore off part of the bottom, deciding to use it as a means for binding her breasts. She turned away from the boy, removing the corset so she could wrap her chest. Her breasts weren't particularly large, but she needed to avoid any suspicions of her gender. In her short adventure, she'd quickly come to learn that being a woman in this world was dangerous. Once she was done, she put on the tunic.

The boy squinted at her through the limited light of the lantern lighting the back alley. He gestured to her hip. "Were you sold off and branded? Is that why you're taking my clothes?"

Soyo looked down at the puckered scar that marred her left hip. When her parents had found her as a baby, that mark had already been on her skin. Her parents hadn't really known what it was but called it a birthmark, though Soyo would be hard pressed to agree with that analysis. It didn't look like a usual birthmark. It was like someone had taken a knife to her skin and let it heal badly. For one, it looked like an awkward jagged line with maybe a clover. It was the one imperfection she had on her otherwise pristine skin.

"It's a birthmark," she responded. He looked sceptical, but he said nothing as she yanked the trousers up.

His clothes were a bit big on her and his pants were more loose on the hips than she would have wanted, but they fit enough that she didn't particularly need to hold them up. And best of all, they concealed her feminine curves. Soyo bent down and picked up the map she'd forgotten about. This piece of paper was her ticket back home somehow. She stuffed it in the pocket of her pants.

"I need a blade. Do you have one?" Soyo asked him as she removed her jewellery and the ornaments in her hair and dropped them on top of the dress she'd discarded.

He rose a brow. "What for?"

Nevertheless, he handed it to her, and Soyo fisted her hand around her hair at the nape of her neck, taking a deep breath as she brought the blade to it. She hacked away at the strands in the back and her bangs, watching as they all tumbled to the ground around her, watching as her feminine identity was shucked away, watching as she threw away her old life. It felt weird losing the long, luxurious, well kept hair—something she'd been praised for for so many years—but she knew in the end, it had to be done. Only when it felt short enough to pass off as a man's head of hair did she stop and return the blade to the boy. She ran her hands through the incredibly short hair and suddenly felt vulnerable, like a person she didn't recognise. Then she picked up his hat and plopped it on her head, snuffing out the last of her old self.

Swallowing thickly to fight the tightening of her throat, she tried to give the boy a small smile. "Do I look like a boy?"

"Yeah, I guess." He was watching her in shock, his eyes wide and jaw partially dropped. "You really are a crazy one."

Maybe she was, but Soyo needed to survive, and that wouldn't happen if she was sitting around crying about her fate. She needed to get back home. And if throwing away the Soyo she had been and disguising herself as a male was the only way to do that, so be it.

She thanked the boy before slinking her way out of the alleyway. She peered around, watching to see if anyone was looking at her, but most everyone was running and screaming to get away from the pirates who seemed to be looting the town. No one was paying her any mind. It was the perfect distraction.

Soyo took off out of the alley and ran back towards the docks while keeping her head down. If she just kept on her way, didn't stop to bother anyone, and didn't bring attention to herself, she would be fine. As she ran past the town square, she heard the shot of a rifle. Soyo gasped and quickened her pace, holding down her hat as she retraced her steps from where she'd been running earlier.

A pirate with a large bag of clinking coins ran by shouting profanities. "Fuck, their numbers are increasing! We already found the map; let's just get back to the ship now!"

She followed behind him at a safe distance, her heart jumping in her chest when she began to see fewer houses, more barrels, and most importantly, the sound of waves slapping against wood and brick. She was almost there. Almost about to find a way to get out of this mess, bargain a way back home, and get back to her parents to see if they were okay after the bandits had attacked their village.

And then when she got to the dock, she froze, her eyes widening as she stood in the mess of human beings running around, cheering, shouting, raising swords in the air and laughing. Some men were fighting with obvious castle guards, holding them back as their crewmates hurried onto the only remaining ship on the dock.

There were no white sails at the dock. No SS insignias. No Navy boats to take her away. Nothing Nobume had said would be there. Soyo staggered on her feet, nearly stumbling when she realised that her only escape had been contingent upon her getting on that Navy ship at dusk. Had she missed her shot? Had she overslept and all the Navy ships left? The back of Soyo's eyes stung with tears. Was she trapped in Feng?

And then she heard cackling, loud and clear into the night. Spine chilling laughter that made her tears stop abruptly. She slowly lifted her gaze to the large, looming, blood red ship with black sails. The insignia had a skull with two swords crossed under it. On the uppermost part of the deck was a man.

The first thing Soyo saw was fiery orange hair that shone bright in the night like some artificial sun. Fiery orange hair and a billowing cape as he watched the turmoil around him.

He was honest to goodness laughing at the mess around him. He seemed to be enjoying watching the men pillage and loot the town. Soyo couldn't see him that clearly, but even from her distance, she could feel the dangerous gleam dancing in his eyes and treacherous aura surrounding him.

This was a true pirate.

She'd heard of bandits and weaker groups that only rarely paid visits to various tiny kingdoms and towns to steal every once in a while, but didn't have the nerve to truly attack a huge nation because of fear of repercussions from the strong Navies. But never had she seen a real live pirate ship. This was nothing like those other bandits who'd abducted her. Goosebumps rose on her arms just from looking at him on his ship. She could tell he was not someone to be messed with.

But she knew that pirates made a lifestyle of travelling across the seven seas to pillage and plunder and loot anything and everyone. Which meant that they had to have a charted map with kingdoms and locations labelled. One that she could use to find her way back home.

It was a risky plan, but Soyo would try what she and Nobume had done again. She would stowaway on the ship, bide her time, and then steal a charted map. The next time they docked, she would escape and use the map and try to find some Navy boats. This was a pirate ship. They were bound to get in some kind of fight with a Navy too at some point. And if they did, she could bargain her way out.

Some part of her mind told her this was a terrible plan and that she had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she ignored it. Soyo picked up a slightly heavy barrel on the ground, and following the lead of some other men, she climbed up the ramp to get onto the boat. She grunted with the effort, but kept her head down and moved as quickly as she could. Once she got the goods in an area near some other barrels, she moved out of the way of the other men and slowly moved away from them, heading towards the open hatch she saw. It looked like the place where she'd been kept on that other ship before.

She hurried down the stairs and ladder, trying to make out where she was. Thankfully, she didn't have to look far. The landing she'd ended up on was filled with boxes and other storage. There were barrels everywhere, stacked cannonballs with cannons, folded sail, ropes. Though she would've liked a more sufficient hiding place, Soyo heard voices approaching the hatch, so she scurried further into the area, finding a good hiding place away from the stairs and hidden behind a cluster of boxes and barrels. Even if a few of the barrels were moved, she wouldn't be easily seen.

She pulled a sail from the pile to use as a blanket and settled in her spot. She didn't have a set plan, and at some point, she was going to have to find food so she didn't wither away, but at least she had a place for shelter. At least she had a place to rest to replenish her strength.

And that was when she felt the sharp pain in her right arm. Hissing, she lifted it up gingerly, only to be surprised to see a dark, thin puckered hole in her heavily bleeding arm. Alarmed, she inspected it, prodding the surrounding area carefully. The blood was dripping down the sleeve of the tunic and her arm, settling in a small pool beside her.

She must have gotten hit by the bullet of the rifle. Why hadn't she felt the pain from the strike?

Now though, she could feel it pretty heavily. It was sharp and pulsing and growing in intensity, and Soyo bit her lower lip, whimpering in anguish as her arm was seized with a feeling as if she'd gotten pierced several times with a knife. Her eyes pooled with fresh tears that tumbled out when she tensed her muscles hoping to squeeze it out, only to be wracked by a wave of fire so painful her vision swam.

Hands trembling, Soyo used the sail she'd nabbed as a bandage, wrapping it tightly around her upper arm to try to stop the bleeding. She felt woozy, her eyes spinning for a second while she tried to finish the agonising job she'd set out for herself. Her stomach twisted again and she felt nauseous, like she had to vomit, but Soyo knew she hadn't eaten anything in a while for her to feel like this.

Breathing growing laboured, she slumped back against the wall. The air was growing stagnant, thick and heavy and it was getting hard to breathe. She tried to relax her aching body to stop the dizzy spell. But it didn't stop and neither did her bleeding arm.

Swirls and black spots danced in her vision, and before she knew it, her eyes lolled to the back of her head and her consciousness dimmed.


	4. Chapter 3

Soyo was unbelievably sluggish when she slowly came to, wondering how many times in the past few days she'd woken up jarringly in an unfamiliar area after falling unconscious. This was starting to become a ridiculous pattern she honestly hoped wouldn't continue. Only unlike the other times, she was way more beyond disoriented than she'd ever been. Her body was aching and creaking, and it felt like she'd been hit by a carriage or something. Her mouth was also dry, unable to produce spit and her lips felt like cracking cardboard.

"What happened?" she slurred, trying to stop the swirls in her vision.

"You left a trail of blood all over our ship down to the gun deck. We thought one of our own had died back there, but then found you. You lost quite a bit." A voice answered back.

Soyo's heart seized in her chest at the unexpected response. She blinked rapidly to clear the spots in her eyes as her gaze focused in on the human shaped blur leaning over her. A fairly young man wearing glasses was watching her patiently with a smile. Soyo tried to open her mouth and speak, but her throat had seized up on her and she could do nothing but squeak in confusion.

"You're in the hospital of our ship. Well, I say hospital, but it's nothing grand," he continued as he turned around to rummage with something behind him. "You got shot in the arm, by the way. You were unconscious during surgery, but I still gave you a sedative just in case. The pain might've killed you. But don't worry, you'll probably make a full recovery."

The glasses boy turned back to face her with a pair of metal tongs in his hand that held a bloody bullet at the end. There was something bloody and clumpy stuck to the bullet as well, and Soyo had a sickening feeling that that was something that had probably been part of her arm. Her stomach reeled immediately, and she quickly leaned over the side of the cot, her body shaking as it tried to throw up nothing. Her stomach had been twisting in hunger before, but after seeing that piece of flesh she had absolutely no desire to eat. The man put the bullet away quickly, looking at her in pity as he handed her a cup of water when she straightened.

"Sorry, this is all we have left. I don't know why you were stowing away on the Amanto, but you're safe from the Feng guards now."

She frowned as she choked the water down. It tasted musty (and vaguely of dirt) and there was some kind of small sediment floating in it, but she fought the recoiling of her stomach to swallow it down. She was parched and needed to alleviate the dry feeling in her throat.

He gestured to the bullet. "Feng bullet. One of the guards must have shot you."

"Oh," Soyo set the cup down and suddenly became aware that her hat wasn't covering her face as well as it had been before. She tilted her head down and pulled the cap more securely over her head.

"Did you escape from the castle?" he asked cautiously.

She glanced at him but said nothing in response. He had kind eyes, and he didn't seem to have any bad intentions towards her, but he was a pirate. This was a pirate ship. She couldn't place her trust in anyone, especially after all the treachery she'd endured in the past several days.

"You've been through something awful and your mistrust is justified, but believe me, I mean no harm," he added when she kept silent. "It probably doesn't mean much to you, but some of the crew wanted to toss you overboard. I convinced them to let me get the bullet out of you so you could live and explain yourself. But you will get questioned and when you do, I can't support you if I don't know your story."

She cleared her throat before deepening it and speaking gruffly so she sounded less feminine. "How long have I been out?"

His brows lifted, as if surprised by something. "…about thirty-eight hours. The sedative will wear off in about ten hours. You'll probably be in a lot of pain after that."

She looked down at her arm. The sleeve had been torn and around her upper arm was a tightly wrapped reddened bandage. This man had gone through great lengths to make sure that her wound would heal properly even though she was a trespasser on the ship.

"Look, my captain will kill you if you don't have my help," the man with glasses said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I know you're scared, but you can trust me. I promise."

"I…" He was right. His captain was that crazy orange haired man laughing on the ship. She had no doubt he would kill her. The bloodlust he'd exuded had been palpable. "I ran away from Feng kingdom because I was about to be s…"

She paused, quickly stopping herself from saying she was about to be sold. She grimaced, hoping he wouldn't try to delve further into her explanation.

He seemed to understand her hesitation and changed the subject. "How old are you?"

If she remembered correctly, she'd been bleeding for about three years now, though she honestly wasn't sure when exactly she had been born. She'd been a baby when the millers had gotten her so they'd guessed her age as a baby and also from when she'd begun to bleed as a woman. She considered her birthday the day the kind old couple took her in.

She shrugged. "I'm grown."

"Do you not know your age?" The look in his eyes wasn't one of pity, but one more of empathy. And at that moment, she felt the guard she had around herself crack the tiniest bit. Despite her reservations and her mind telling her not to fall for any traps, she couldn't help but feel like she'd found a kindred spirit in the young man with the glasses. "Orphan?"

"I wasn't told my age growing up, but I am probably around sixteen or seventeen years of age."

The boy nodded pensively. "That makes sense actually. You seem like you haven't hit the change to manhood yet. Hell, you kind of even resemble a girl in some ways."

She felt her cheeks rouge and cleared her throat, lowering it even further.

"I get that a lot. I'm a late bloomer. …balls haven't dropped yet," she added, remembering something she'd heard one of the village boys say once when his friends had been teasing.

He laughed, genuinely, and Soyo couldn't help but crack a smile at his unabashed friendliness and the ease with which she was maintaining conversation with him. She'd half expected all pirates to be cruel, terrifying eye patch wearing burly crooks with rotting teeth and hooks for hands and pegs for legs who only pillaged and plundered. But this guy was already proving her fears wrong and it had a tremendous effect in making her trepidation diminish quite a bit.

"I'm Shinpachi, by the way. Surgeon and occasional chef for the Amanto," he said with a kind smile. "And you are?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but in the next second, the door of the small cabin swung open brutally. It banged against the shelf of supplies, knocking over some stored liquid and another viscous like substance that fell to the ground. The glass shattered, spilling the contents across the floor and they both jumped in alarm and turned to the door.

"Abuto…" Shinpachi said, looking a little concerned.

"So the stowaway lived, huh?"

The man with long, dirt blonde hair, Abuto, was standing in the doorway staring down at her. Soyo bristled, a chill settling in her spine at the bored look in his gaze. Like he couldn't care less whether she lived or died.

Before Shinpachi could respond, Abuto grabbed her off the wooden table. Soyo couldn't get her balance fast enough and tumbled to the ground, landing on her injured shoulder with a cry that resounded throughout the room and reverberated off the walls. She caught Shinpachi's wince and his attempt to help her up, but Abuto was already there, yanking her to her feet and then tying her arms tight behind her back.

Soyo bit her lip to the point of drawing blood from the fiery pain shooting up and down her arm. She felt like her arm was about to get ripped out of its socket, but there was no time to dwell on the pain before Abuto gave her bum a good, sharp kick and she went stumbling out of the cabin.

"Walk," Abuto drawled behind her, giving her a hard shove on the back and once again, nearly causing her to fall flat on her face. "Up the stairs and out of the hatch."

Soyo climbed up the stairs slowly, towards the light, and felt like she was being led to her execution. At the top, she was met by the dank stench of pungent sea water, the sound of waves crashing against the side of the rocking ship, and the unbearable heat of the sun directly above her head, beating down on her heavily.

Soyo swallowed thickly, fighting the quivering of her lower lip and willing herself to keep her head up as she walked in the direction he kept directing her. It seemed like the whole crew was standing around on the deck, most occupied with their tasks but all watching her. Some with thinly veiled curiosity, others with thinly veiled treachery. The crew itself was an interesting mix of bulky, tattooed men and others lean and slim, but there wasn't a single one who she could single out as looking like a potential ally. Shinpachi was fussing to Abuto about being careful with the injured, but Abuto merely snorted derisively and planted his boot on her behind yet again.

Soyo went sprawling on the deck from slipping on a puddle of suspicious liquid and crashed face first. This time, she did cry out when she felt the sharp snapping of something against her skin. Gritting her teeth, she glanced at her injured arm and saw that it was bleeding more heavily through the bandages. She wanted to cry, but her fears stayed her tears.

"Abuto!" Shinpachi said angrily. "You're going to make his wound reopen!"

Too late, Soyo thought, just as an ominous shadow settled over her.

She hadn't heard the footsteps approach. Soyo rose to her knees and glanced up slowly, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the rays of sunlight reflecting off a radiant orange head of hair. It was the orange haired captain himself, braid dancing in the wind and a cheerful grin on his face as he stared her down. She was a little surprised by the friendly smile. From what Shinpachi had warned her about the crew, she would have expected the captain to be rough or potentially violent right off the bat, but she couldn't feel any sort of murderous aura from him. He seemed almost accommodating. But as she rose to her knees and moved herself upright, a quick glance at Shinpachi's blanched face made her stomach flip in trepidation.

"So you're the infamous stowaway who tried to steal passage on my ship," the orange haired captain mused with a finger to his lips and head tilted a bit to the side in interest. He sounded almost playful, but something about his demeanour made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Do you know what pirates do to stowaways who don't earn their keep on a ship?"

Then he reached down and grabbed the collar of her tunic, twisting it in his hand until it was tight enough to make breathing uncomfortable. Soyo gagged and struggled as the captain lifted her up by one arm high above him, her legs dangling uselessly. She wheezed for breath that wouldn't come easily, her eyes bulging as she tried to release some of the pressure on her neck. She couldn't even use her arms since they were tied too tightly.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled his sabre out of the scaffold with his other hand before pressing the tip at her neck. She sucked in a sharp breath when he pressed harder, and she felt the sting of metal piercing through her skin. Warm blood trickled out from the shallow wound, trailing down the side of her neck and travelling under her tunic. At this rate, she was going to die!

"P-please!" she heard a voice saying that was definitely her own, though she didn't remember telling herself to speak. She snapped her eyes tightly shut, focusing on sucking in one breath at a time while her lungs protested the lack of air. "Don't kill me! I mean no harm! I just needed somewhere to hide to get out of Feng!"

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears in the ensuing silence as she began to countdown whatever seconds she could possibly have left in her life. Not one sound was made from the crew, though she could feel all of their eyes on her.

"…Are you a spy for the Navy?"

To her relief, the sword tip moved from her skin. She cracked an eye open to look down at her assailant and almost immediately wished she'd kept it shut. That jovial smile she'd thought was friendly had warped and looked sadistic and vile. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen the pure killing intent running off of him in waves. It oozed off of him like a concealed second skin, lazily lapping around him and impatiently waiting to be released on the next unsuspecting person.

It frightened her, and it took everything she had to swallow her fears to respond with a steady voice. "No. I was escaping bandits when I was shot during the raid in Feng. I want to join your crew. Let me join your crew."

She had no desire of joining a despicable pirate crew, but she would say anything if it could save herself. And she was taking that chance.

The captain laughed hard at that. "You have nothing of value to consider you an asset. Why would I induct you in my ranks?"

"B-because I do have something of value. A treasure map!" she lied, hoping he didn't call her bluff. That stupid map she'd been holding on to looked like it could be a treasure map. At the very least, she could try her luck to trick them. "If you let me down and cut my binds, I can show you."

That certainly got his attention. He stared at her contemplatively as if trying to gauge how much of her words were true. But after a few seconds, he dropped her back on her feet and cut the ropes binding her wrists. Soyo nearly whimpered from the pain of her joints finally moving in a less tight, painful position. She rubbed her wrists with a frown, tempted to throw them all a glare. Now that she was free, she would have to come up with a quick scheme to get out of harm's way. But it looked like they were out in the middle of the ocean, and she didn't know how to swim.

The sword reappeared directly in front of her nose. "The map. We don't have all day."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled map, unfolding it carefully before holding it up. There was a deafening silence as everyone stared at the article in her hand.

"Where did you get that from?" the orange haired captain asked.

"I stole it from some bandits."

"Captain," Abuto suddenly said with raised brows, discreetly giving his captain a poignant look that Soyo caught. "How does she have a copy too? Didn't we already steal it from Feng?"

There were murmurs of confusion by the crew as well. Soyo didn't know what was so important about this damaged piece of parchment, but they looked too incensed about her having it that she knew she could use it as a bargaining chip. Whatever this thing was, it was definitely important. Abuto aside, the smile on the captain's face had gone a little stiff and sour.

"…Because it's not a copy," the captain muttered with grit teeth, as if realising something. "It's another piece of it."

The comment made Abuto frown as well and a few others cursed under their breath.

"Wh-what is it a map to?" Soyo asked tentatively.

He ignored her inquiry and responded with a shark like smile that made chills travel down her back. "Interesting how we've been looking for this, and all of a sudden, you show up with just what we need, huh?"

"It's just a coincidence!"

"Of course," he drawled, his tone implying he didn't believe her. The sabre came dangerously close to her throat again.

"How about you strike me a deal? I was a miller's d— son so I've grown knowledgeable about bread and usually made the meals. If you allow me passage on your ship, I can work as an assistant chef. Or…" She swallowed thickly. If he was planning to kill her regardless of what she said, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Soyo took a deep breath and knocked the sword out of her face. She ran as fast as she could to the side of the boat and held the map over the edge of the rail. "O-or I'll drop this into the ocean!"

Behind his captain, Abuto visibly flinched and was making a rapid motion for her to stop. And even Shinpachi facepalmed, shaking his head like she'd done the singlehanded most stupid thing she could have done in this situation. Some other crewmembers were also wincing.

The orange haired captain slowly turned to face her, sheathing his sabre calmly. Her heart leapt in her chest when he dragged out a pistol from his coat and made a show of checking the bullets in it. His eyes were open now, and she was met with the frightening gaze of a startling blue that rivalled the ocean. They were the eyes of a predator hell bent on capturing and destroying its prey. They held a promise of violent retribution, but he was still smiling and somehow, that made his gaze that much more terrifying.

"What is it with you prisoners that get all confident just because I didn't kill you first chance I got?" he mused darkly, cocking his pistol and aiming it at her head. "We just took a bullet out of your body. Do you want another one to take its place?"

"I mean it! I'll drop it in the ocean!" Soyo shouted, though her resolve wavered when she saw the unforgiving gleam in his eyes.

"You'll die before that."

Her legs shook. "Do you really want to take that risk? I'll make sure I fall over the edge with it. You'll lose it in the sea forever."

They stared each other down. Sweat dampened her tunic, making it cling to her body. She was nearly holding her breath, though she kept her gaze steady. She didn't feel confident though. He was going to kill her. She could see it in his eyes.

"It's not like we couldn't use the help, Captain." The silence was broken by a sandy-haired guy chewing on a blade of wheat in boredom. "We lost a lot of crew with that last raid."

"…And I'm up to my neck with all my work as surgeon," Shinpachi added cautiously, though he was partially cowering behind Abuto. "We haven't had anything great to eat since you made our last chef walk the plank. If you hire him as a chef, he can handle most of the food related stuff I haven't been able to. Think about it. Real food."

Soyo sent a mental thanks to Shinpachi and that other guy for steering the conversation away from the blackmail, though she kept herself alert and focused on the volatile man a few paces ahead of her. In retrospect, maybe it hadn't been the best idea to try to threaten the captain when she really wasn't in a position to pull a stunt like that.

"I won't be in your hair for long," she tried again, deciding to focus her argument on her skills. "I just want to work for passage on this trip so I can return to my kingdom one day. I'm very good at making bread."

The captain did have a look of interest on his face. Or rather, after Shinpachi had mentioned the chef business, she'd noticed his more relaxed disposition. Actually, from where she was standing, she could actually see a lot of the crew looking interested and desperate for food. How long had they been going on with barely anything to eat?

"What kingdom did you live in before Feng?" he asked.

"I don't know. I was hoping I could figure it out on this trip so I could get back home."

He scrutinised her with a look of mistrust, though she let out a sigh of relief when he uncocked the pistol and replaced it in his holster. She was safe for now.

"Very well. You will work in this crew until we fulfil my objective. Only then will I return you to your home."

"Wait…" Soyo blinked in surprise. She honestly hadn't expected success. But what was his objective? "Really?"

He turned on his heel. "I'm hiring you as chef hand. You'll be working with Glasses—"

"My name is Shinpachi, Captain!"

"—as his assistant until you can take over duties on your own. What's your name?"

"M-my name? I uh… it's So… ummm…" Soyo's mind went blank as she scrambled to think of something. Abuto gave her a weird look and she nervously licked her lips. "…Souji. I don't have a last name."

"Glasses, you're in charge of him. You're also responsible for him, so if he messes up, you're punished too." The orange braid swished lightly in the wind as the captain stuffed his hands in his pocket and headed away. "All of you get back to work. Abuto, bring the map to my quarters."

As the crowd dispersed and crewmembers went back to their duties (although many were still giving her curious looks), Shinpachi went over to her with Abuto. The amount of relief that Soyo felt at the attention no longer being on her was almost all encompassing.

"Congrats on joining the crew. So no hard feelings, kid?" Abuto cracked a grin as he took the map gingerly from her. "I was just putting on a show."

"You… what?" She glowered up at him and he chuckled, patting her head gently. "So kicking me in the behind and making my injury reopen was you putting on a show?"

Abuto's face only looked more amused. "Being easy on prisoners leads to mutiny by the crew. I'm not your enemy. But word of advice. Cap' doesn't respond well to disobedience, anything against what he wants, and above that, threats. You'd do well to steer clear of him for a couple days. If you piss him off again, he'll shoot you for real."

He slinked away while taking a swig of a flask he kept on his person.

Shinpachi smiled. "It's true. Abuto is more reliable than he looks. And he didn't want to throw you overboard when we found you either. He cares about the crew. But with a Captain like Kamui, you really can't afford to be soft around him."

Soyo nodded, carefully adding and filing this information in her mental column of allies on this ship. So far she had Shinpachi for sure, and one maybe ally who she didn't quite trust in Abuto, and a potential maybe ally in that sandy-haired guy. Everyone else seemed a danger to her livelihood.

The next slap of waves against the boat rocked the boat, and Soyo's stomach jolted as what little energy from the excitement left her body. Her legs buckled and she nearly collapsed. She turned over the railing and heaved, releasing some brown liquid mixed with what looked like dirt.

Shinpachi gave her a look of pity as he carefully moved her uninjured arm around his shoulders to support her. He must have seen her legs shaking from the effort of standing. "I wish we could offer you something real to eat, but there's not much left right now but some moulding bread."

"Better mouldy bread than nothing at all," Soyo groaned, wiping her mouth with the bottom of her tunic and instantly regretting the motion when a sharp pang of pain travelled through her arm. She felt like she was going to die soon if she didn't get some real food in her stomach at some point too. It was bad enough that she hadn't eaten anything in quite a long time, but if she kept throwing up what little was in her stomach, she wouldn't last very long. "How do you all survive in this environment? What do you eat?"

"You don't really want to know…" Shinpachi grumbled in disgust as they began their trek across the main deck to head back to his surgeon quarters. The sky had already darkened considerably. "But welcome to the Amanto."

She had no intention of remaining a pirate, and she didn't want to stay on this ship any longer than she had to, but at least there was a decent person on this ship. And if she stayed away from everyone else and kept to herself, maybe the voyage wouldn't end with her as food for the fishies.

"Why are you on this ship if it's captained by such a dangerous man?" She still felt unsettled by that jovial expression that he'd had on his face. It was a façade, she knew, but she believed it was to cover the bloodlust that dripped off of him. She would hate to see him actually angry, and she had a feeling many of the men on this ship were loyal to him because they'd seen what his anger did to his enemies. "And no offence, but some of you don't quite look like you're fit for being pirates."

"Not all of us are here because we want to be pirates or join the pirate's life, Souji. But believe it or not, Kamui is one of the better captains I've seen." Shinpachi gave her a strange, almost pained smile. "He's ruthless and an awful person and living on this ship is hard, but we all have selfish goals we're trying to reach, and we all know he's our best shot at getting to those goals. No matter what means."

His tone brooked no further questions and something about the way there was a haze in his brown eyes made Soyo decide not to press what he meant by that. "How did your captain manage to find such a large, loyal crew? Are most of them scared of him or something?"

She felt Shinpachi's chuckles more than heard them. "Most of these men are criminals for short term hire who chose this life instead of prison, but there are a few of us who are contracted crewmates of our captain. I'm one on contract. On this ship—thanks to our captain—we're free to do what we need to to accomplish things. Things that we wouldn't be able to do if we were tethered to the law or our pasts. "

"What do you mean?"

"Make no mistake, some of the crew have absolute loyalty to Kamui no matter what, but many of us who are only on this ship for the purpose of achieving our own goals. Being under contract gives us higher payment and more benefits, though our commitment is longer."

"You seem like a good man compared to many of these others." She didn't voice her thoughts that she wouldn't have ever seen him as the type to end up on a pirate ship. In fact, she would have imagined him more as the kind to work in a navy or something more righteous than some scummy pirate ship full of thieves, killers, and outlaws.

They walked across the deck in silence, and Soyo watched the crewmembers as they raised the sails and pulled ropes and scrubbed the deck in tandem. Some were shouting orders she didn't quite understand, but it was pretty interesting to see the work they collectively put in to make the ship function. They were like one well-oiled machine, a unit where each person had their own place and task and putting all the tasks together resulted in the success of this ship.

"…I wish I could agree with you, but I'm no better than some of these others. I'll do anything if it means helping my sister," Shinpachi said quietly, with a hint of shame in his voice.

She almost misunderstood what he was saying until she realised he was responding to her earlier comment. "Your sister?"

"My sister works on the island of Yoshiwara as a bar wench."

"Is that where you grew up?" Soyo asked tentatively. She wasn't sure how to react. "Yoshiwara?"

"No, Yoshiwara is a free trade port. We're heading there right now to get more crew and sell some stuff to prepare for our long voyage. But it's a filthy place and a hovel with brothels and other saloons and bars and illegal transactions unfit for someone of her calibre. She raised me since I was a young boy because we're orphans, so I just want to give her a carefree life," Shinpachi said through grit teeth, his fist clenched. Soyo glanced up at him in slight alarm from his darkened tone. "It's the least I could do for the sacrifices she made so I wouldn't end up being forced to join the navy or become a sea merchant. She hasn't been able to get married because she works in such an impure place, but our late father left us so much debt. The only way she won't be thrown into a brothel is if we pay it off."

"Is that why you're working on a pirate ship? The easy access to treasure?" Even though pirates did awful things?

Shinpachi nodded, chuckling awkwardly in a bit of shame. "Our captain is looking for one of the biggest lost treasures in the world. If we find the treasure, the cut I get from it could fix all of my family's problems. And knowing that, I joined, regardless of what that meant I would become or would do. Selfish, isn't it? Still think I'm a good man?"

She swallowed thickly, feeling like part of her wanted to distance herself from him. It was appalling, and it wasn't right. He'd joined a horrible crew who did all sorts of untold horrors to towns and people and ruined lives just for the sake of his own desires. He was selfish. But deep down, she knew given the opportunity to help her parents, she'd do the same thing without hesitation. She was human too. She knew exactly the lengths she would go to to make sure her family was safe. Hell, wasn't that what she was doing by using this pirate ship to get herself back home?

Soyo knew it was time for a change of subject. "Are there any places I should avoid on the ship?"

Shinpachi looked grateful for the shift of the conversation topic. He gestured to the hatch leading to the ladder that Soyo remembered she'd climbed down when she first snuck onto the ship.

"Down there are our ship's stores, the brig, and cargo hold. The other deck has the galley, hospital, and other stores." He gestured to where the wheel of the ship was. "That's the helm, and behind the helm is the poop deck. I'm sure you can take a guess as to what happens there. I wouldn't recommend going there at night because that's when most people relieve their business." He stopped in front of a closed door underneath the helm. "And these are the captain's quarters and the navigation room."

So that was where the maps would be. If she snuck in there at some point, maybe she could get it back to help her find her way home.

She must have had too much of a look of interest on her face because he raised a brow. "That's the one place off limits in this ship. Don't ever go in that room, or you'll probably end up with a bunch of holes in you. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask the crew. They may look scary, but some of them are really nice."

Soyo's eye twitched. "Only some? And what about the ones who aren't?"

"Any questions about the ship?" Shinpachi replied, ignoring her question entirely. He guided her to the hatch, being very careful to help her down the steps. They walked back to hospital, and he held the door open for her as they walked in. "You'll be living in the galley or food stores for the most part, since you probably shouldn't sleep near the rest of the crew. I can put an extra cot I have in the galley."

"…Shouldn't?" What did he mean by shouldn't sleep near the rest of the crew? His comment alarmed her and her stomach dropped to her feet in fear of him knowing her true gender. She swallowed thickly as he set her down on the cot she woke up on. "Why not?"

He stared at her as he pressed a cloth to her wound and instructed her to hold it in place. "I mean, you're new and until you get the ropes, it's hard to lead a life like a common pirate. It's not the cleanest or easiest place to live. And it doesn't smell very fresh where most of the crew sleeps."

"Right, right…" She let out a discreet sigh of relief.

"For now, you can sleep on this cot." Shinpachi started to leave. "I'm going to re-bandage you, but for now sit tight and keep pressure on your arm. I'll go get that bread for you to eat."

Soyo sat back against the wood of the ship, trying to relax from finally being out of danger and harm's way. For the time being, she could try to gather her strength and get some rest until she figured out the next step to take. She was safe now, but how long would that last living in a pirate's world? Not to mention Kamui being incredibly erratic, and she was already on his bad side. If even someone who seemed like a good person like Shinpachi had their morals compromised by being a pirate, Soyo definitely didn't want to stay and potentially lose her morality.

She had to get out of here. The sooner, the better.


	5. Chapter 4

Soyo woke up with sore joints and limbs, a pounding headache from lack of sleep, and the overwhelming urge to pee. Her eyes felt like they were plastered shut and puffy, but she didn't blame them. Afterall, she'd spent the whole night crying herself to sleep. She was out of harm's way, but her circumstances still weren't fantastic, not to mention, she felt unsafe in this environment. With a captain like Kamui, the other men could be just as dangerous.

She rolled off of her cot and nearly plummeted to the ground when the ship rocked sideways and tipped her over. Her vision went dizzy for a second and a few seconds later, her stomach grumbled with the telltale sign of ache from hunger. Groaning, Soyo gripped her abdomen and stumbled to her feet, patting the darkened walls of the hospital to find her way out. She pushed open the door and took careful steps out, watching the landing and checking the other hatches to make sure no one was going to come out and see her. Her strategy for the time being would be to avoid everyone she could until she could solidify her plans.

Her plans being to steal the maps in the captain quarters as leverage to barter her passage on another ship.

It wasn't a great plan, but it was all she had at the moment. She didn't really know where she was and she wasn't positive of how to even find another ship to barter with either, but Kamui's reaction to the map she'd been carrying made her suspicious. It was obviously very valuable. From what Abuto had said too, the map seemed to be in the possession of many other people, so perhaps it was desired by many other people too. For the right price, she could use it to find her way home.

She shivered when she reached the main deck. The air felt a little chilled from the wind despite the fact that the sun was just about starting to peak out over the horizon. She supposed that was something to get used to when being overseas. Still, she would have to look into getting some thicker, more comfortable garments to shield her better from the cold. Not to mention trousers she didn't have to keep hiking up every few seconds.

Soyo made her way rapidly to the poop deck, glancing around quickly to make sure it was devoid of any sailors. The helmsman wasn't behind the wheel at the moment and letting out a sigh of relief, she picked up one of the buckets to do her business. Smelly liquid was still in there and some sloshed against the rim and her fingers when the boat rocked. It was so utterly disgusting that Soyo gagged for a second, nearly dropping the bucket on the deck and almost crying. But better that one than the other few with weird crusty stuff on the side. The rest had some ghastly odours coming out of them too.

"Note to self," she muttered to herself as she dropped her knickers and squatted over the bucket to relieve herself. "Try to get Shinpachi to talk to people about hygiene."

After she was done, she quickly pulled her pants up, glancing around in hopes there was no one around who could have seen that. It would breed undoubtable questions of why a supposed guy would need to stoop while emptying their bladder.

"Now then… let's explore a bit and figure out what to eat." She turned around, slapping her hands together to clear them of any residue… and then promptly froze when she saw a little boy sitting on the edge of the banister next to the wheel.

He was grinning wide and kicking his legs back and forth and watching her with the full excitement of a child undaunted by horror. She was shocked to silence as she blinked at him. He thankfully had been behind her, but how much had he seen? And how long had he even been there?

He didn't give her a chance to say anything though, because he immediately launched himself off the banister and hurried over in excitement. "Are you that stowaway from the cargo deck?! You're little like me!"

"Umm, did you see anything?" Soyo questioned, deepening her voice as low as she could and gesturing vaguely to the urine bucket area. "When I was, you know…"

"Of course!" He laughed gleefully. "You pee squatting. It's weird."

She didn't know what to say to that and floundered for words, her face growing ever hotter.

"But it's because your balls haven't dropped yet, right? Mine neither. They'll drop when I make my first kill, but I hope that never has to happen. My mother would be so disappointed in me if she found out I killed someone."

"Are you a pirate?" Soyo asked, feeling stupid that she was asking a little boy of all people. What was a young boy doing on a pirate ship anyway? Was he a stowaway too? What if he was in danger?

"I'm cabin boy. Seita." He looked extremely proud of himself, but Soyo couldn't help but feel heartbroken that some young child would be stuck in an environment not meant for children like this. What kind of horrible life had he led that he would be driven to piracy as an alternative?

"Cabin… boy? Like a playtoy?" Were these pirates using the boy for their own pleasure? Soyo felt sick to her stomach at the prospect.

He rose a brow. "No, like a _servant_ boy. I run errands for the captain. I'm a spy for the ship. Or I bring smiles to the sailors!"

She supposed with his wide, unassuming grin and cheerful disposition, it would make sense that he would make a decent spy. No one would suspect a cute little boy as being part of a dangerous crew, but that still made her wonder how he'd ended up in these circumstances. Soyo wanted to ask him more questions, but she started hearing the chatter of voices. Several of the pirates were lumbering out of the hatches, heading to the poop deck while others were dumping buckets of sea water on themselves to wash. Soyo's nose wrinkled in disgust at the lack of hygiene. She was really going to suffer on this ship.

"Ah! Time to rise and get this ship working," Seita said, before taking off down the stairs.

"Wait! I don't know what to…"

But Seita had already disappeared on the main deck and some of the members were heading up the helm stairs to the poop deck. They were eyeing her—not altogether friendly—and Soyo quickly pushed her cap further over her eyes, lowered her head, and rushed away from the makeshift lavatory. The last thing she wanted to see were a bunch of grown men handling their business and pooping in the holes.

Most of the crew were these giant hulking burly men twice her height with muscles as big as her head. It was a little terrifying to be honest. They could squash her like a bug if they so chose. Her goal was to avoid them as much as possible until she could finally escape. The other half were skinny, wily, crafty-looking types that might be conniving and just as dangerous.

On the main deck, the men were bustling about, shouting and singing songs as they worked to get the ship in order. Sails were raised, the ropes were tightened. Men climbed up the ropes while others took to moving and sorting cargo or cleaning the deck. There was a man with short blonde hair in the middle of it all, near the main mast, banging a wooden stick to a bucket and barking orders. She supposed he was some important leader on the ship or something. He was definitely the one to speak to, but he seemed busy, and she didn't know how to approach him.

"Look alive men!" He barked as he watched the procession of men carry out their work. "You know the drill. Swab the deck, check the wood for rot, the canvases for tears, the ropes for fraying! I want this done before the sun is in the sky!"

"Move it!" Some burly guy barked at Soyo as he ambled past carrying two huge barrels.

She hardly got out of the way fast enough, and part of the barrel hit her upside the head. Soyo barely had time to recover from the sting of being hit before a whole slew of men rushed past her with mops as they scrubbed at the residue on the wood. She barely jumped out of the way fast enough, and even then, her balance was seriously thrown off when the ship rocked sideways again. How did these men get so used to the turbulent motions? It made her want to vomit.

"Get to work or get out of the way!" Another man yelled at her, shoving her shoulder as he rushed past her with a folded white tarp.

Soyo nearly plummeted to the ground from the force of his push. If she didn't want to become a target, she really had to do _something_.

Hands shaking anxiously, Soyo shyly stumbled over to the man barking orders. She would have preferred to talk to Shinpachi, but he was nowhere to be found. Even Seita had disappeared off somewhere and she couldn't see him anywhere. Abuto didn't appear to be on deck either. She didn't know what to do. Where the heck were her allies when she needed them? Her throat tightened in disappointment, and she wondered how pathetic it was for her to want to cry for feeling deserted.

"Um, e-excuse me?" Soyo muttered quietly as she called the blonde man's attention to herself. "I-I'm not sure what to do."

He glowered down at her, a sneer on his lips and his eyes shining in distaste. "Ah. The new recruit. How nice to finally meet the freeloader who hasn't earned passage on the ship, yet seems to believe they have the right to access all the facilities."

Soyo recoiled a bit, taken aback by his immediate vitriol. This man must have been one of the ones who wanted to throw her overboard, the ones who Shinpachi had warned her might not be so nice. There was something about him that seemed a little too debonair as well. There was something shrewd in his gaze that made her immediately note in her mind that he was someone to strictly avoid.

"I'm the new chef for this ship. I-I'll earn it eventually…" she said, her voice barely a whisper. "And I bought passage on this ship with my map."

"Ah yes. That little bargain you made with our captain. I'm surprised he even let a stowaway—much less a scrawny, useless one—live." The man turned fully to her, this time giving her his full attention as his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Our captain may have let the map issue slide, but I'm not buying this 'coincidental' map ordeal. A piece of a map that is so elusive it took us three whole weeks to find one part of it just happened to land in the hands of someone who stowed away on our ship on the same night we pilfered it from a king? That's too fortunate to be luck or coincidence."

Soyo swallowed thickly, but didn't dare avert her gaze. She couldn't move. She felt like she was being squeezed to death by a giant snake that had its fangs pressed up against the side of her neck.

"It was a coincidence," she asserted, trying to make sure her voice didn't waver.

"There's something not right about you. Our captain may be a simpleton, but do you think us _all_ fools? I know you're hiding something. So tell me, Souji," his voice lowered to an almost vicious growl, "where did you actually get that map from?"

She inhaled shakily, her eyes widening in fright as the man continued to loom over her, gaze alight with malice. She'd made a grave error. A horrible mistake and thinking she could trust just anyone enough to talk to them had put her in a dangerous situation. She didn't know how to respond, but something told her that no matter what lies she came up with, he would always know she wasn't telling the truth. What was she supposed to say?

"I—"

"Souji, there you are!" Shinpachi suddenly said, appearing beside them and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His smile turned a little acidic as he faced the man haranguing her. "I was just about to teach Souji how to fish with the net so he could make us some food. Pardon us, Itou."

Without waiting for a response, Shinpachi pulled her away, tugging her past many of the men working on the deck and towards the side of the ship. Soyo briefly glanced back over her shoulder and accidentally made eye contact with the man called Itou. He didn't have a particular expression on his face as he pushed his glasses up his nose, but she definitely caught the sinister glint of his gaze. A chill ran down her back, and Soyo immediately turned back away, vowing to never get stuck alone with Itou again.

When they were far enough away, Shinpachi let her go. "Don't worry about him. That's our boatswain, Itou Kamotarou. He's a little strict, but he's not an altogether horrible guy. He means well. He just doesn't like useless people."

"I guess I'm certified useless then, huh?"

But still, he'd been oddly way too intense and while Soyo didn't doubt Shinpachi was right about Itou hating useless workers, she wasn't naïve enough to think that was all his hostility towards her was. No. That had been _real_ malevolence for a different reason altogether. A reason she didn't care to find out.

Shinpachi winced apologetically at his accidental implication. "I didn't mean it like that. You'll learn more stuff as time goes on. When I get the chance, I'll teach you more about the ship and help you get more used to it."

"So why is he… umm. Why is Itou on this ship? What's his crime? Or is he a contract member?" Maybe he'd be off the ship soon and she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

Shinpachi grabbed a large mesh net piled on the side of the ship and tugged it over to her with a grunt. "He is a contract sailor, but he came on this ship well before I did. Someone mentioned once that he attempted to murder a Navy officer. It was prison or life at sea and he chose life at sea. Apparently, Kamui attacked his ship, and he got hired for our crew instead of killed. Now let's get to work."

She stared at the large net he was holding up to her sceptically. It was huge and probably would take a lot of effort.

"Fishing is typically a two man job, but we're shortstaffed, so you'll have to do it on your own every morning." He gave her a reassuring smile when she looked at him, slightly terrified. "It does take a lot of upper body strength and you'll need to work at it, but don't worry. I won't let you do it by yourself until I know you're ready."

"Thank you, Shinpachi." And she truly meant it. If it wasn't for him, she'd probably be swimming with the fishes by now.

"Wait here for a bit. I'll go grab some barrels to store the catch."

He headed towards the hatches, and Soyo leaned against the railing of the ship, watching the horizon in awe as the sun slowly lifted, splashing the sky in an array of purples and oranges and blues. Altogether, it was a beautiful view and though this pirate ship was awful to be on, all things considered, this was a sight she could get used to. Soyo hadn't ever seen a sunrise like this, so unencumbered and vivid. The castle on her home land was so vast it tended to block the sun to the village.

She still couldn't believe she'd managed to escape and managed to be able to get out of her rough situation. They were still pirates, and still the bad guys technically, but anything was better than being forced to be a mistress. How her life became such a wild mess in the span of only a few days, she would never understand, but one thing Shinpachi got right was that she was free from her punishments on this ship. As long as nobody on this ship figured out she was a woman, she'd never be in danger of being sold again.

As the night sky cleared and became the bright, early dawn, Soyo scanned her eyes across the water to see if she could see any sharks or dolphins swimming by. She'd heard tales and stories of sailors seeing them at sea, but she'd never actually seen one in person. In the distance, she noticed the blur of white growing larger not too far from them. It was kind of weird and pointy, and she couldn't quite make out the full shape, but if she had to guess anything, it would probably be a ship, not a flock of birds. A ship with white sails perhaps?

And Soyo inhaled sharply. A ship with white sails. An SS Navy ship. Just like the one Nobume had told her to get on.

"Alright…" Shinpachi stated as he came back, dropping a barrel between them and picking up an edge of the net. "This is what we'll put the fish in. So, let me teach you how to drop the net in and reel it back up without losing the net or any of the fish."

Her heart started to double time in excitement. "Quick question, Shinpachi."

"What is it?"

"Are all ships with white sails Navy ships?"

He stopped messing with the net, straightening up as he turned to stare at her in alarm. "Why do you ask that?"

She pointed towards the sun and his gaze followed her finger as he narrowed his eyes. "It's just that there's a ship with white sails in the horizon and it looks like it's coming towards—"

Shinpachi immediately brushed past her as he raced to the stairs of the helm and cupped his hands together, shouting. "Navy ship! Starboard side!"

For a beat, all movement on the deck stilled as people stared at Shinpachi clamouring and pointing in the direction of the ship she'd seen.

And then, chaos.

Soyo hadn't realised it would be such a huge deal, but the commotion that ensued nearly made her jump in surprise. It was like the ship and crew all came to life anew, bustling about, shouting at each other and working twice as hard and fast to get tasks done.

But Soyo's heart was beating fast. What if that was the ship Nobume told her to get on? What if it was coming back this way to get her and take her home? She could escape this pirate life. Get on a Navy ship and get home. Finally put an end to this short-term nightmare.

But that meant she had to get the captain's map now.

She turned and looked at that closed door of the curtained room under the helm. Because that meant she'd have to sneak into the captain's cabin, something Shinpachi had made clear was a sure fire way of getting herself killed.

/

"I never get tired of seeing this sight…" Abuto grumbled sarcastically, peering out of Kamui's quarter's windows as something brown dropped from above, heading for the water below. "You may have the best room on this ship, but being under the poop deck certainly has its downsides."

Kamui continued his steady pacing, ignoring Abuto's quip as he waited for Okita to finish analysing the maps to see if they were worth copying for navigation. It bothered him. He hadn't expected to have so many difficulties trying to find that fabled treasure, but it took forever to track down one map, and that had solely been a lucky chance from overhearing some drunken men discussing it.

But now there were two.

Of course, that could mean any number of reasons or possibilities, but all of those meant he had a much more difficult course ahead of him. And he did not like having more obstacles in his way, especially when he thought he'd been making some headway in his search.

Not to mention that strange stowaway on his ship. It wasn't like he hadn't had stowaways try to use his ship before. He was familiar with people trying to make passage on his vessel—he rarely let them live—but his new recruit had some guts. Scared stiff, clearly, but had still tried to stand up to him in the face of probable death. He could respect fearlessness, even if the stowaway's attempts at blackmail had irked him. Kamui supposed that would make him useful for something before he tossed him oversea. And his stowaway had yet to be interrogated on how he had acquired the map so that was definitely on the agenda for the day.

"Could you stop pacing?" Okita looked up from the table with a vaguely annoyed scowl. "You're breaking my concentration."

"Maybe this will help your concentration?" Kamui said with a feral smile as he took out his pistol and pointed it at his navigator's head.

Abuto sighed in exasperation. "Kamui, how many do I have to tell you, you can't shoot our helmsman."

The barrel shifted lazily and faced Abuto's head instead. "And how many times do I have to tell you, it's captain?"

Okita rolled his eyes and stood from his chair, walking around the desk to the large map pinned against the wall. A trail of red yarn had been set up between several different points. He held up the map they'd gotten from the stowaway and held it up in front of the large map at a bit of a distance. He shifted the way he was holding it, tilting it sideways as he scrutinised it to find the correct orientation.

"What do you think?" Abuto questioned as he walked over to where Okita stood. "Is it any good?"

Okita nodded. "It's a real map. In fact, it _is_ just like ours. Same fabric. Same ink. Same pressure with the type of quill used whenever this map was made." He pointed to an elaborate T with spirals and curls on the ends on the inside of the map near a landscape that looked like three mountain ranges in the middle of the sea. "The Tokugawa sigil is legitimate. There isn't a sigil on our map piece though."

"So our little stowaway was useful after all," Abuto said, chuckling like some proud mother hen. "What did I tell you all?"

"He's scrawny and doesn't look like he'll make a good sailor," Kamui countered. "But he might make something good to eat if the going gets tough. Or shark bait."

"Oi." Abuto rose a brow. "We're hungry and desperate. But not desperate enough to eat another human."

"Speak for yourself." Kamui said, turning around and settling back into his plush, cushioned chair. He leaned his elbow on the armchair, tapping a finger against the side of his face impatiently. "So? What's the deal with the map?"

"If I find the correct orientation, I might be able to figure out something else. Our piece seems to be showing a landlocked location, but these two different pieces don't connect with each other in any arrangement. Judging by the location of this T, it might be able to tell us the location of another piece. Or some treasure. Either that, or we're being led on a wild goose chase."

Kamui scowled, rubbing his forehead in aggravation. He was getting fatigued with all of this endless searching for clues to the Tokugawa treasure. He'd been hoping for a relatively quick and painless process, but this was starting to get complicated. They had been one step closer with the piece their crew stole, but now they'd taken several hundred steps back with the acquiring of the new piece from the stowaway.

Okita lifted up the map they stole from Feng. "What I do know is that the piece we got from Feng could possibly be showing us the location of the treasure since it doesn't seem to have the sigil stamped on a landmark directing us to any specific landmarks. That's all I've got."

"Which means another piece would lead to ours…" Kamui deducted.

"True," Abuto added. "We haven't been able to make heads or tails of the map at all. We're missing pieces. And plus, there are small holes all over our map that have been cut out. Missing spots. Maybe that means our map piece is the final piece to the puzzle? Do you think those are X marks the spot?"

"Could be. In which case we're missing a lot we'll need to find or figure out. All I know is that Souji coming on this ship with that map is odd and a little too convenient," Okita muttered, leaning against his navigating table as he perused the map. "Do you think he's a spy, Captain?"

"It's not like this ship has enough notoriety yet to warrant any kind of need for a spy," Abuto snorted.

Kamui rubbed the rough stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "It's too coincidental that he just happened to show up on our ship with the map that we want. There's something strange about Souji."

Abuto looked very amused. "I should hope so, considering he's a—"

"Captain," Okita interrupted. "I suggest, for the time being, that we focus on deciphering the map once we reach Yoshiwara. Maybe see if we can hear anything on the grapevine. There could be hundreds of pieces for this map, and we need to regroup, get supplies and men before we even think about starting a search. We've chanced upon these two pieces by luck, but lightning won't strike the same place twice. I can do more in depth research once we hit dry land."

"Then it's settled," Kamui agreed, rising from the plush chair and grabbing his captain's coat off the back to put on. It was about time they finished this meeting up and began their rounds for the ship. Dawn had already started to break and more early morning light was starting to stream through the windows. "Once we get to Yoshiwara, then—"

" _Captain_!"

Suddenly, the door to the captain's quarters burst open and all three men turned to face the intrusion with raised brows. Shinpachi leaned against the doorway, panting as he pointed with his other hand outside the door.

"Navy ship! Fast approaching! Starboard side!" He wheezed, out of breath and red faced. "We're about to be under attack!"

/

Soyo was completely and totally lost in the jumble of movement. She tried to keep out of people's way as best as she could, but it seemed there were people moving about everywhere. But she did see a few of the skinnier men moving cargo from the deck and rushing it down the hatch. Maybe she could help to look less conspicuous and more useful? As it stood, she was getting a lot of dirty looks from sailors rushing by. She didn't want to be in the spotlight like this. Based on what Itou had said, it was already bad enough that she was a stowaway who had managed to live, but if she didn't start pulling her own weight, she'd be surrounded by negative attention.

"Make way for the captain!" The booming voice came from this large burly man and most everyone immediately stepped aside as Kamui made his way to the side of the ship. He looked out in the distance contemplatively, an eerie sense of calm settling over the whole crew as they waited with baited breath for what he would say. Soyo shifted backwards, hiding somewhat behind two other sailors. She didn't want to be in the range of the captain. All were silent as he made his investigation.

"Captain? You want us to raise the anchor so we can move?" One of the men asked tentatively. "We have enough time. Winds are favourable today. We can get the sails and anchor up in no time and escape."

"Escape?" Kamui muttered, watching the ship in the distance as it slowly bobbed towards them.

Most everyone was watching the horizon, but Soyo was looking at Kamui, and she definitely noted the shift in the captain's mood and expression. So she definitely caught the gleam of sheer joy that crept into his gaze. And she wasn't the only one.

Abuto groaned in annoyance. "You're not serious, are you? This is a navy ship. They're equipped with the best kingdoms have to offer. We lost half our ammo in the last fight. We might not be able to sustain this one."

"All the more reason to take it, no?" Kamui's face looked delighted. "In fact, let's change course and meet them halfway."

She didn't quite understand the gist of their conversation, but something about it made her anxious. Others seemed just as displeased and shocked, and there were murmurs amongst the men, a few voicing objections in the anonymity of the crowd.

"Captain…" A meek voice called out from the pack of men. Soyo thought he was probably wise to hide in the crowd of men when addressing the captain about something like this. Kamui seemed like the type to kill someone for showing weakness. "I've got a family back home… Is this a good idea?"

Kamui turned slowly to face them all with a chilling smile. "Need I remind you that disobeying captain's orders is punishable by death?"

Not another word left anyone's mouth. That quieted the murmuring, but the hesitant looks remained on some faces. But others were grinning and practically celebrating the decision. Those men were giving off the same bloodthirsty vibe Kamui was. _Those_ men, Soyo made a mental note to actively avoid.

Her eyes narrowed as she glowered at the vermilion haired captain. Kamui had no charm or common sense it seemed like, and it was clear to her that Abuto was probably the one who managed to get people to stay or even join the crew. Some people probably respected and admired his strength, but she was sure fear was a huge motivating factor as to why many listened to him. She could see the glee in his eyes easily and was suddenly reminded of the sight of him standing atop his ship cackling with laughter while gunfire rang about and the port burned with fire. This man thrived on disaster. He lived for opportunities to bring chaos to the world, and it utterly disgusted her.

Abuto scowled, but nodded nonetheless and yelled some orders at some men about readying the cannons and finding whatever they could to fight. He ordered the sails dropped and anchor raised and a myriad of other instructions that she couldn't for the life of her figure out. But what she did understand was that everyone was suddenly on high alert. They all had sharper gazes, as if mentally preparing and steeling their resolves. Knives and sabres were sharpened, guns and gunpowder from below deck were passed around and prepped. It was all so frightening, and Soyo stood in the middle of the mess, her heart pounding wildly in fear of what was to come.

"Abuto, what's happening?" she asked him quickly as he began to stalk past, yanking a bit on the arm of his long coat.

"That's a Navy ship, and we're pirates. Ones who just robbed a prominent trade kingdom and set fire to a port, no less." Abuto stared at her, much of the easy-going warmth gone from his gaze. "Don't be naïve. We're going into battle."

He shoved one of his sabre in her hands and told her to get ready in a grim tone as if no matter what she did, either way was going to end badly. And that made her more scared than she'd ever been before.

"What am I supposed to do with this?! I don't even know how to fence!" And this was a weapon used to kill other human beings. Something Soyo decidedly did not want to do.

"Then try to survive, kid. That's all you can do. No one will try to protect you."

He started to walk away, raising his own sword in the air in a silent battle cry that had men all over the deck shouting and raising their swords. Someone started a chanty about war at sea as the men worked to prepare the ship, and suddenly, the entire vibe of the ship went heavy with anticipation and bloodlust.

Soyo was startled by the shift in his usual mood. His steeliness and preparedness to fight—the intensity of the dangerous aura he was giving off—was a reminder to her that no matter how kind he'd been, he was still a pirate. An evil, dirty pirate who broke the laws, killed, and left a trail of destruction and mayhem in his wake. Even Shinpachi, who seemed to be the most normal, had a hardness about him now as he aided others in shifting the sails to catch a different wind.

But Abuto was right about her needing to try to survive. If this entire ship was about to become a battle ground, she definitely needed to find somewhere safe to hide until she could jump ship and seek out asylum on a Navy boat. It would be just her luck to wind up on a ship that would get into a dangerous battle at sea.

If she'd been smart, she could have hidden at the port and waited until another Navy ship arrived in Feng. Instead, she'd hopped on the first ship she found and got stuck in a bad situation. There was no guarantee she would survive this battle, and she hoped the Navy ship wouldn't suffer so many casualties that she wouldn't be able to join them once she escaped this pirate hell. She was really starting to regret the decisions that had led her to this situation.

Why oh why had she jumped on a pirate ship?

 


End file.
